Throughout the past four summers I have been blessed to have a job at an extremely popular ice cream parlor, “The Big Dipper” on the New Jersey shore. Like many of my friends and family, one will first assume that this job requires little to no experience, that this job is a piece of ice cream cake. Unfortunately for myself, the job is more similarly represented by tough steak. With lines extending up to 40 plus people having a ~20 minute wait, working from 11:30 AM through 11:30 PM plenty of times, and dealing with horrendous customers every shift is demanding on the soul. Although, I have learned a great deal of experience because of this demand. These past four tedious summers have given me the experience to confidently claim that I am an expert at scooping ice cream. Practice makes perfect after all.
Now before anyone judges, crafting the perfect scoop of ice cream is an art. I’ll start with the basic “cup” scoop. For this, one must always use a freshly cleaned scooper. It is preferred that the “Zeroll original” ice cream scooper is used. This scooper is designed to use for both left and right hand use (you will be surprised at how many scoopers people have that are right handed…) while also using heat conductive fluid inside the handle which helps the ice cream easily scoop into a smooth ball that will release instantly into the cup. The ice cream must be stacked carefully in a light yet firm, tall formation. This will please the customer with the size of the ice cream but without being to generous. It is to be noted to stack carefully so that if any toppings, such as m&m’s or hot fudge are asked to be added, they don’t pour all over the customer. As a result, a trench is made between the center scoop and the edge of the cup to catch any bit of over flow. Never forget to add toppings on the bottom of the cup. If the customer asks for hot fudge or caramel, spin the cup as you let it drop in so that you coat the interior of the cup, saving the customer their toppings for the end of their ice cream after they eat it all the way down to the bottom.
Along with making a cup of ice cream, creating a banana split is a challenge of its own. There must be an even ratio of toppings and ice cream so that the customer doesn’t feel like they are eating spoonful’s of hot fudge. The banana is cut right down the middle so that there are two long ends. Make sure you don’t cut the banana in half, there is a BIG difference. If the banana is cut in half then there are just two chucks of banana, while if it is cut down the middle the customer can easily spoon out a nice portion of banana with some ice cream. The key to adding whip cream is to have two tall towers on each side and a small one in the center. This is so that you have to foundations to twist the whip cream around with out them colliding. Banana splits sure are delicious, but if you don’t take your time they can easily end up sloppy looking.
Finally, the “cone.” The cone is a work of art, a master piece. It must be crafted with such precision so that it doesn’t tilt off even when handled by a 4 year old. Now there are two kinds of cones, the soft serve or the hard ice cream. When adding the soft serve to the cone, tilt the cone along with the ice cream while its coming out so that the ice cream softly slides right on top of the cone in a well fit manner. This takes time, do not rush the ice cream, this is something that many new ice cream scoopers don’t understand and they end up with miserable cones. When packing the hard ice cream, do so in small balls and stack them one by one on top of each other. Press them down tightly so that they don’t fall off, don’t worry you will not break the cone if you do it with gentle force. When people order cones they always picture something “Instagram worthy,” I always attempt to meet that expectation.
I give all credit to my expertise in scooping ice cream to my boss, John. John has spent the past two decades putting his heart into this shop. With these years of experience he has mastered the art of scooping ice cream. He has been by my side every step of the way while I slowly become an expert. He has given me every tip in the book that he knows, helping me craft the perfect ice cream cone. With out him I would never have been able to roll the perfect sphere, or create such an elegant twist of soft serve.
Scooping ice cream is something I take pride into. I try my hardest with every cone or cup, soft ice cream or hard ice cream. With roughly 20 hours a week, 4 months of the year I slowly but surely rose through the ranks. I never let anything get in the way even if the soft serve cooler breaks and melted ice cream floods the floor. Putting such time and dedication helped me get to the place I am now. Practice makes perfect after all.
EDC 102H Expertise
Throughout the past four summers I have been blessed to have a job at an extremely popular ice cream parlor, “The Big Dipper” on the New Jersey shore. Like many of my friends and family, one will first assume that this job requires little to no experience, that this job is a piece of ice cream cake. Unfortunately for myself, the job is more similarly represented by tough steak. With lines extending up to 40 plus people having a ~20 minute wait, working from 11:30 AM through 11:30 PM plenty of times, and dealing with horrendous customers every shift is demanding on the soul. Although, I have learned a great deal of experience because of this demand. These past four tedious summers have given me the experience to confidently claim that I am an expert at scooping ice cream. Practice makes perfect after all.
Now before anyone judges, crafting the perfect scoop of ice cream is an art. I’ll start with the basic “cup” scoop. For this, one must always use a freshly cleaned scooper. It is preferred that the “Zeroll original” ice cream scooper is used. This scooper is designed to use for both left and right hand use (you will be surprised at how many scoopers people have that are right handed…) while also using heat conductive fluid inside the handle which helps the ice cream easily scoop into a smooth ball that will release instantly into the cup. The ice cream must be stacked carefully in a light yet firm, tall formation. This will please the customer with the size of the ice cream but without being to generous. It is to be noted to stack carefully so that if any toppings, such as m&m’s or hot fudge are asked to be added, they don’t pour all over the customer. As a result, a trench is made between the center scoop and the edge of the cup to catch any bit of over flow. Never forget to add toppings on the bottom of the cup. If the customer asks for hot fudge or caramel, spin the cup as you let it drop in so that you coat the interior of the cup, saving the customer their toppings for the end of their ice cream after they eat it all the way down to the bottom.
Along with making a cup of ice cream, creating a banana split is a challenge of its own. There must be an even ratio of toppings and ice cream so that the customer doesn’t feel like they are eating spoonful’s of hot fudge. The banana is cut right down the middle so that there are two long ends. Make sure you don’t cut the banana in half, there is a BIG difference. If the banana is cut in half then there are just two chucks of banana, while if it is cut down the middle the customer can easily spoon out a nice portion of banana with some ice cream. The key to adding whip cream is to have two tall towers on each side and a small one in the center. This is so that you have to foundations to twist the whip cream around with out them colliding. Banana splits sure are delicious, but if you don’t take your time they can easily end up sloppy looking.
Finally, the “cone.” The cone is a work of art, a master piece. It must be crafted with such precision so that it doesn’t tilt off even when handled by a 4 year old. Now there are two kinds of cones, the soft serve or the hard ice cream. When adding the soft serve to the cone, tilt the cone along with the ice cream while its coming out so that the ice cream softly slides right on top of the cone in a well fit manner. This takes time, do not rush the ice cream, this is something that many new ice cream scoopers don’t understand and they end up with miserable cones. When packing the hard ice cream, do so in small balls and stack them one by one on top of each other. Press them down tightly so that they don’t fall off, don’t worry you will not break the cone if you do it with gentle force. When people order cones they always picture something “Instagram worthy,” I always attempt to meet that expectation.
I give all credit to my expertise in scooping ice cream to my boss, John. John has spent the past two decades putting his heart into this shop. With these years of experience he has mastered the art of scooping ice cream. He has been by my side every step of the way while I slowly become an expert. He has given me every tip in the book that he knows, helping me craft the perfect ice cream cone. With out him I would never have been able to roll the perfect sphere, or create such an elegant twist of soft serve.
Scooping ice cream is something I take pride into. I try my hardest with every cone or cup, soft ice cream or hard ice cream. With roughly 20 hours a week, 4 months of the year I slowly but surely rose through the ranks. I never let anything get in the way even if the soft serve cooler breaks and melted ice cream floods the floor. Putting such time and dedication helped me get to the place I am now. Practice makes perfect after all.